Alden Richards
Richard Reyes Faulkerson Jr., popularly known by his stage name Alden Richards, is a Filipino actor, television host, and model. He currently hosts the noontime show Eat Bulaga! ''and has been since 2015. Already a Kapuso heartthrob and primetime leading man, Alden joined ''Eat Bulaga! ''as a guest co-host for a month. The Dabarkads welcomed the actor in the variety show for him to learn different hosting skills before he starts working on a new project. After a month has passed, the management decided to make him a regular co-host. Alden was 23 years old when he joined the show. He was then paired with showbiz newcomer Maine Mendoza after she broke out of character upon seeing him in the segment ''Problem Solving. The unintentional formation of a loveteam between Alden and Maine known as AlDub became phenomenal and unconventional as it repeatedly trended on Twitter worldwide and brought in unprecedented ratings for the noontime show. Alden immediately gained fame and became known as the "Pambansang Bae ng Pilipinas". Thanks to AlDub, he was recognized by various award-giving bodies and became one of the most-talked about names in the Philippine showbiz. Despite the phenomenal success surrounding him, Alden remains the same and keeps his focus on what is important—his family. His showbiz success is all thanks to his late mother, who dreamed of seeing him on television. Early life Richard Reyes Faulkerson Jr. was born on 2 January 1992 in Santa Rosa, Laguna, Philippines. He is the second of the four children of Richard Peralta Faulkerson Sr. and Rosario Reyes. He has three siblings: older brother Richard Daniel and sisters Riza and Angel. Alden is of American descent through his paternal grandfather. Growing up, Richards wanted to be a pilot but his mother urged him to pursue acting instead. Being very young at that time, Alden did not take it too seriously. But in 2008, Rosario passed away after bouts with chronic pneumonia from being a heavy smoker. From his mother’s medication expenses to his and his siblings’ education, his father’s earnings were not enough to support their family. In that trying moment, it dawned on him that there was no better way to honor his mother than fulfilling the one thing she desired most. So Alden tried to find a way to enter the Philippine entertainment industry. He studied high school at Paco Catholic School in Paco, Manila, and then Colegio de Santa Rosa de Lima High School where he graduated. Although he wanted to be a pilot, he wasn't able to pay its tuition fee so he ended up taking Business Management at the De La Salle Canlubang in Biñan, Laguna. In 2011, Alden withdrew from college to become a full-fledged celebrity. Prior to Eat Bulaga! Fulfilling his mother's dream ' Alden Richards achieved consecutive victories as the Ginoong Santa Rosa in 2009 and Ginoong Laguna in 2010. He also began working as a part-time commerical model. Alden also auditioned for reality television shows ''Starstruck ''in 2009 and ''Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Clash 2010. Unfortunately, he didn't make it far in either show. He only made it in the Top 60 of Starstruck ''before being eliminated. "''After a year of auditions and rejections, I considered quitting. Sabi ko, ayoko na, because sayang ang time, sayang ang pera. I lived in Laguna, which meant I had to rent a van to get to and from places in Manila.". Alden was a freshman in college when he was invited to audition for a role in the 2011 afternoon fantasy-drama series Alakdana on GMA Network. Initially, he was hesitant to go to the audition because he was one absence away from failing a class. Luckily, he went as a last-minute decision and landed the lead role. He was paired with actress Louise delos Reyes and their loveteam became known as DenLou. Their tandem became a hit that it propelled each of them to stardom. His role in ''Alakdana ''also earned him the Golden Screen TV Award for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance by an Actor in the same year. He was then included in the cast of ''Reel Love Presents: Tween Hearts ''(2011), ''Party Pilipinas ''(2011), and ''My Beloved ''(2012) before bagging a lead role on GMA-7's primetime block. '''In the limelight of Kapuso primetime Alden and Louise became household names with the popularity of their characters in the 2012 drama-romance series One True Love ''as Tisoy and Elize, star-crossed lovers who fought for their love all the way until the end. Because of his versatility and love for his craft, Alden was also given the opportunity to showcase more of his talent and work with some of the industry’s respected artists and directors, most notably when he was paired with Kapuso Primetime Queen Marian Rivera in the 2014 drama series ''Carmela: Ang Pinakamagandang Babae sa Mundong Ibabaw. He then hosted Bet ng Bayan, a talent search television program, together with Regine Velasquez. In October 2014, Alden topbilled the internationally-acclaimed historical drama mini-series Ilustrado. He played the role of Filipino patriot José Rizal that gave Alden his first Best Actor award from the 29th PMPC Star Awards for Television. He was the only nominee from his home network against a field of respected actors from the rival television network. Invitation from ''Eat Bulaga!'' While waiting for a new project from GMA Network, Alden was invited to co-host the noontime show Eat Bulaga!. ''He was only supposed to be on the show for a month before he would leave for the United States to perform in a series of shows for GMA Pinoy TV. As an ''Eat Bulaga! ''Dabarkads '''Becoming the Pambansang Bae' On 18 April 2015, Alden Richards joined the longest-running noontime show as a guest co-host in the segment Pinoy Henyo High. He was 23 years old at the time he joined the show. The addition of a fresh and young face to the noontime show was positively received by its viewers. He began to host other segments such as You're My Foreignoy: Artistahin Talaga!. ''Although his hosting stint was supposed to elapse on 23 May 2015, the big bosses of ''Eat Bulaga! liked his performance and the viewers' positive reception so much that they invited him back on the show when he returned from the United States to become a regular co-host. On 6 July 2015, he received his big break on Eat Bulaga! ''as the main host of ''That's My Bae: "Twerk It" Dance Contest. His undeniable charm and boy-next-door appeal as the host of the segment earned him the title of "Pambansang Bae ng Pilipinas". His tandem with co-host Sam YG in the segment also became a hit. The AlDub phenomenon Upon discovering Maine had a crush on Alden, the show's producers immediately capitalized by scheming an 'ambush' on Maine. On 16 July 2015, Alden was invited to sit out on the studio stage and watch Juan for All, All for Juan: Bayanihan of d' Pipol ''where a camera can readily focus on his face. While Maine was preoccupied doing one of her Yaya Dub dubsmashes, Alden's video feed was propped up on the opposite screen. Maine glanced at the monitor and found Alden watching her. Unable to contain her "kilig", Maine broke out of her character and smiled. Maine desperately tried to revert back to Yaya Dub mode. Netizens subsequently trended her spontaneous reaction online as they saw the potential of this new loveteam, which would later be known as AlDub. The noontime show simply went with the flow and more screen time was given to the pair in the segment ''Problem Solving. Overtime, Problem Solving gradually morphed into an improvised comedy soap opera titled Kalyeserye, which focused on AlDub's forbidden love story. Soon, Alden and Maine gained a large following among the masses. The loveteam had created a loyal fandom called AlDub Nation, generating millions of tweets daily on Twitter. In fact, the official hashtag for the sold-out "Sa Tamang Panahon" special episode of Eat Bulaga! at The Philippine Arena on 24 October 2015 was acknowledged by Guinness World Records as the most used hashtag within 24 hours after amassing more than 40 million tweets. The most awaited event was a milestone for the loveteam as it was Maine's first time to speak with her actual voice and the tandem was able to interact with each other without any hindrance from Lola Nidora. The "Sa Tamang Panahon" event, as well as other milestone episodes of the phenomenal loveteam, helped the show garner some of its all-time high ratings. A debt of gratitude Reeling in some record-breaking tweets and the show's highest ratings, AlDub made local pop culture history and changed the careers of Alden and Maine forever. Alden Richards has expressed his huge debt of gratitude to the noontime show as it gave me him opportunity to touch more lives and "to do good, to spread the goodness,”. The actor has also learned how to deal with the pressures of his public image. Along with his Kalyeserye ''co-stars, Alden received a star at the Philippine Walk of Fame in December 2015 at Eastwood City, Libis, Quezon City. Now that he has reached success, appearing on TV and the movies with projects on end, as well as product endorsements on his plate, Alden is looking forward to new opportunities on his road ahead. Alden Richards dedicates his current success to his late mother, “This is her legacy and I’m doing this for her still.” Beyond ''Eat Bulaga! 'A sought-after Kapuso star' In 2015, Kalyeserye ''stars Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola, and Alden Richards were included in the lineup of celebrities who will be co-hosting GMA Network's new Sunday noontime show ''Sunday PinaSaya. The variety show is produced by APT Entertainment, a subsidiary of TAPE Inc. Together with Maine, Alden starred in some of Vic Sotto's Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entries, including My Bebe Love#KiligPaMore ''(2015) and ''Meant to Beh (2017). He was also included in Enteng Kabisote 10 and the Abangers, Vic Sotto's MMFF rejected film entry in 2016. The success of AlDub gave Alden and Maine various opportunities on film and television. AlDub topbilled "God Gave Me You"'', a 2015 Lenten season drama special of ''Eat Bulaga!. In July 2016, Imagine You and Me premiered in cinemas as AlDub's first anniversary offering to fans. In February 2017, AlDub starred in its first primetime television series Destined to be Yours. ''In the same year, AlDub then headlined the ''Eat Bulaga!-''produced television film entitled ''Love Is..., with Adolfo Alix Jr. as the director. Alden also appeared in the reboot series of Encantadia (''2016) where he played as a Mulawin named Lakan His first appearance in said fantasy series generated public interest and became a trending topic in a social media website. In 2018, Alden made his big comeback on primetime as headlined the fantasy television series ''Victor Magtanggol. Modeling and endorsements Aside from being an actor, Alden Richards also does modeling stints. In 2010, he was fourth on the list of Candy Magazine's "Celebrity Cuties" and had his earliest modeling gig at the Candy Fair held in Pasig City. In July 2012, Richards appeared on the cover of MEGA Magazine dubbed as "GMA's new breed of rising talents". Since then, he has continued to appear in a number of magazines. Alden Richards, known as the Pambansang Bae, one of the hottest male celebrity in the country and is one of the most sought-after endorsers this year. Category:Hosts Category:Dabarkads Category:AlDub